Ultra-Orthodox organization helps men avoid temptations of the eyes

An ultra-Orthodox organization has developed a range of products to act as a first line of defence against the threat of seeing immodest women, Israeli media reported on Tuesday.

In a change of tactics from previous ultra-Orthodox strategies that in the past have targeted women as the culprits of lasciviousness, the Committee for Purity in the Camp offers a variety of gadgets to limit the field of view and so prevent men from exposure to over-exposed women. The devices have recently gone on sale in ultra-Orthodox neighbourhoods of Jerusalem and elsewhere.

Two semi-transparent stickers applied to the lenses of the user’s spectacles blur vision of anything beyond the range of a few meters and so diffuse immodestly dressed women to a harmless blot.

Determined to provide a solution for everyone, the committee also offers non-prescription glasses at NIS 130 ($32.50). Those who are blessed with good vision and don’t require corrective glasses can buy a pair and then apply the stickers to the lenses, reducing their vision to a safe blur.

The organization also offers head scarfs that extend over the eyes for added protection against concupiscence.

A particularly tricky challenge for ultra-Orthodox travellers are airplanes where men and women are forced together in a confined space. Available from the committee are its most successful products, two different designs for portable screens that can be erected in an airline seat to block out not just passing women, but also prevent the calamity of inadvertently watching an in-flight movie.

According to a report in Maariv, the products come with a message of encouragement assuring customers they can be proud rather than embarrassed when using the items in public.

The committee told the paper there seems to be great demand for the products — at least for the foreseeable future.